Oxytocin (OT) may be implicated in the modulation of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) at each level. In mature females the influence of OT on the HPA axis appeared to be dependent on ovarian steroid milieu and stress. In cyclic sows, the role of OT in the regulation of corticoid secretion is unknown. In the present study changes in plasma cortisol and corticosterone concentrations in re...

The whole gut transit rate has been measured in the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle in 18 healthy women in whom ovulation was confirmed biochemically. Mean transit time in the follicular phase (45.2 (2.7) h, mean (SEM) was not significantly different from the luteal phase (51.3 (4.1], p = 0.12. Stool weight was also not significantly different in the two phases (132 (7) v 12...

Background: Food intake fluctuates throughout the menstrual cycle; it is greater during the early follicular and luteal phases than in the late follicular (periovulatory) phase. Ovarian steroids can influence brain areas that process food-related information, but the specific contribution of individual hormones and the importance of the prandial state remain unknown. Objective: The objective wa...

Background: Although the coordinated sequence of hormonal changes during the normal menstrual cycle are well characterized, whether similar or parallel changes occur in the distribution of various electrolytes has not been clearly established. Materials and methods: This corollary follow up study on 50 healthy normal menstruating females presents variation in serum calcium, magnesium, sodium an...

Nicotine intake, menstrual and smoking withdrawal symptomatology, and baseline cortisol and MHPG were assessed in nine women smokers under conditions of ad lib smoking and overnight abstinence in three menstrual phases (early follicular, mid-to-late follicular, and late luteal). A trend towards higher nicotine intake (p < 0.10) was observed in the mid-to-late follicular phase. Although menstrua...

The gradual increase in follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) concentrations in women approaching menopause results from the depletion of the ovarian follicular pool, a process referred to as 'ovarian ageing'. This study investigates whether variable endogenous FSH concentrations, as have been observed in normo-ovulatory young women, are related to menstrual cycle characteristics, including predic...

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the differences in plasma 17beta-estradiol concentration in early and late follicular phases of the menstrual cycle can affect the level of endogenous DNA damage in lymphocytes assessed by comet assay, and whether the extent of this damage in the follicular phase is associated with the genotype of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). The level of DN...

BACKGROUND The blood supply to the uterus is provided by the uterine and ovarian arteries, which form anastomoses. Yet the flow direction through this anastomoses and the primary source of blood supply to the tubes and uterine cornua remains unknown. To clarify this issue, we studied the spatial propagation of temperature changes following cooling of the upper vaginal area. METHODS A thermoca...

BACKGROUND Comparisons of follicular development and hormonal profile in the same women during and after lactational amenorrhoea (LA) are scarce. We report follicular growth, pituitary and ovarian hormone serum levels in the same women during LA and in follicular phases after resumption of menstrual cyclicity. METHODS Serum samples were obtained from 10 women during LA between days 60 and 89 ...

In the present study, changes in the immunohistochemical localization of endometrial estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) during various stages of the ovarian cyclicity in common marmoset, have been reported. Ovarian cyclicity was monitored by estimating plasma estradiol and progesterone. During the early follicular phase, weak ER immunolocalization was observed in the endometr...